Kim Jong-un’s daughter appears in public again and reignites the succession debate in North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter appeared before the public again, this time alongside rocket scientists and other honorary titles as her father’s “dearest” or “precious” daughter. She’s only about 10, but her bold new photos of her deepen the debate about whether she’s being groomed as a successor.

The girl, believed to be Kim’s second child called Ju Ae and who would have been aged 9 to 10, was first introduced to the outside world last weekend in state media photos showing her watching an ICBM launch from the north with her parents and others officials.

The young woman wore a white coat and red shoes as she walked hand in hand with Kim past a huge missile loaded onto a launch truck.

North Korea’s Central News Agency mentioned her for the second time, saying she and Kim took group photos with scientists, officials and others involved. in what he called the test launch of his ballistic missile intercontinental Hwasong-17.

The news agency described her as Kim’s “most loved” or “precious” daughter, a more honorific title than her previous description of “(Kim’s) beloved girl” in his office on November 19. Photos released by state media show her daughter in a long black coat holding her father’s arm as the two pose for a photo.

Both were following their mother Ri Sol Ju, who was not visible in any of Sunday’s photos. The girl looked more mature than when she was introduced a week ago.

Some photos showed the father and daughter standing in a line of uniformed soldiers in front of a huge missile on a launch truck. Others showed Kim’s daughter applaud, shaking hands with a soldier or talking to his father while people cheered in the background.

The succession

“This is certainly surprising. The photo of Kim Ju Ae standing with his father as technicians and scientists involved in the latest ICBM launch celebrate him would support the notion that this is the beginning of his position. as a possible successorsaid Ankit Panda, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“I think the state media further underlines her father’s love for her. Finally, her first two public appearances were in the context of strategic nuclear weapons, the crown jewels of North Korea’s national defense capabilities. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence to mepandas said.

After her first public appearance, South Korea’s spy service told lawmakers it assessed the girl in the photo to be Kim’s second daughter, who is about 10 and is named Ju Ae. The National Intelligence Service said her appearance matched information that she is taller and older than other girls of the same age.

She also stated that her performance seemed to reflect Kim’s determination to do so protect the security of future generations of North Korea face a confrontation with the United States.

South Korean media had previously speculated that Kim had three children, born in 2010, 2013 and 2017, and that the first child is a boy, while the third is a girl. The revealed daughter is most likely the girl retired NBA star Dennis Rodman saw during his 2013 trip to Pyongyang.

After that visit, Rodman told the British newspaper Keeper that he and Kim had a “Relaxing moment by the sea” with the leader’s family and holding Kim’s little daughter, named Ju Ae.

North Korea has not mentioned Kim’s other two children. But speculation that her eldest child is a boy has led some experts to question how a daughter could be Kim’s successor, given the deeply male-dominated and patriarchal nature of North Korean society.

Kim is a third-generation member of the family that has ruled North Korea for more than seven decades, with his father and grandfather successively ruling the country before inheriting power in late 2011.

“We were told that Kim has three children, possibly including a boy. If this is true, and if we assume that the son, who has not yet been revealed, will be the heir, Is Ju Ae really Kim’s most “valuable”?from a succession perspective?” said Soo Kim, a security analyst at the California-based RAND Corporation. “I think it’s too early to draw conclusions.”

The expert estimated that Kim Jong-un might think that the presentation of his daughter it’s an effective distraction while conditioning Washington, Seoul and others to live with North Korea’s nuclear threat, as “Ju Ae’s show seems to detract from the growing seriousness of North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat.”

He added that by parading his daughter, Kim Jong Un may also want to tell his people that nuclear weapons they are the only guarantee for the country’s future.

Weapons

In comments reported by state media on Sunday, Kim called the Hwasong-17 “the world’s most powerful strategic weapon” and said his country’s ultimate goal is to possess “the most powerful strategic force in the world”.

Experts say the Hwasong-17 is North Korea’s longest-range missile, designed to attack the continental United States, but it’s still under development. Its launch was part of a flurry of missile tests that North Korea said were aimed at issuing a warning about US and South Korean military exercises it considers a test of invasion.

Kim could signal to other North Korean elites that he is advising his daughter. for a leadership rolesaid Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

“Making such an early and public start is unusual, but it reflects the historical and political importance Kim attaches to a nuclear missile that can reach the United States,” he added.

Analyst Cheong Seong-Chang of the private Sejong Institute in South Korea said Kim Jong-un You cannot make your son your successor if you think he lacks leadership.

​Cheong felt that Kim could avoid potential rejection by choosing a daughter to be the fourth-generation leader, which is probably why he took her to a blockbuster ICBM launch event to help convey public loyalty to him without fail.

“When a king has many sons, it is natural for him to make his favorite son his successorCheong said. “Kim Ju Ae should occasionally appear at Kim Jong Un’s public events and undergo probate training.”

Revealing young Ju Ae came as a big surprise to foreign pundits, as both Kim Jong-un and his father, Kim Jong Il, were first mentioned in state media dispatches after they became adults.

Cheong, however, claimed that Kim Jong Il had Kim Jong-un in mind as his heir. when her son was 8 years old. Cheong cited her conversations with Kim Jong Un’s aunt and husband, both of whom fled to the United States.

The fact that the South Korean spy agency said that Ju Ae is around 10 years old despite being born in 2013 could be related to the country’s age system which generally ages people a year or two older.

PA agency

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